the list could be endless but here in this post, Bailey @Your_PrivateMidwife gives you the basic run down of some of the items you might need to facilitate your birth at home.
As a privately practicing independent midwife, I am experienced in the list making activities for many families planning to birth their babies at home & even have a beautiful templated document you can get you’re hands on (Drop me a comment below to get yours). But in reality you domino need an all singing all dancing John Lewis wedding list of items to bring baby in to the world at home.
Some women want it all, the twinkles, the tinsel, the glitter and more, but others are all about the keep in simple lifestyle so here is my necessary item lists with a few extravagant extras should you like them.
Here we go:
A home & a pregnancy woman who has made the choice to birth in her own space! Sounds simple right….yep! It really is that. I have, in my well spread career, caught babies in a wide range of remarkable places, lifts, toilet bowls, cancel boats, taxi’s & taxi ranks. Even inn the GP surgery in the middle of an antenatal clinic. This just goes to show you that little people can make their entrance into the world & we don’t really need much.
Towels & Blankets cue all those memories of hearing people asking for hot water and towels. This is simply to help mum and baby comfortable as they arrive and transition to new life and immediate motherhood. The need for anything else to catch, wrap or clean a baby with can actually be an after thought.
Water, Now if you’re planning to birth in a birth pool there are plethora or items to consider. Pool, Hosepipe (New & sterile, not the garden hose please dad!), tap connectors, a pool liner, somewhere to drain the water out afterwards…. a decent means of heating said water! Although I spent many a birth boiling the kettle & am well versed in finding pans to boil water should it be necessary.
Now if you don’t fancy the pool, don’t have the room, nor want to hire now your shower is a perfectly acceptable option to labour and birth in. BUT, I wouldn’t recommend a standard home bathtub as it doesn’t quite give you or baby the room you need to actively labour, but for comfort early on is a great option.
SNACKS are important! I recommend you plan the snack pack (& consider both you & your partners needs…plus a biscuit or 2 for the midwives) as this will most certainly help you keep your energy up. Think small easily chewable bite sized options, not full blown meal plans. Burst & bites of energy work best to help you get a quick fix & do the job.
Drinks & hydration stations.This is som important when you birth your baby. You use a lot of energy to labour and as a result can become dehydrated quickly, so a great big water bottle with a a straw & some electrolyte crystals or simple sugar salt and lemon combo can work just as well.
An Overnight Bag. This needs to include all the things you would take away for a night away, but make it Boujiee! Think luxury shower gel, toiletries (Im a full skin care every day kinda lady…so go big on the spa vibes) a brand new PJ sets & a few changes of clothes for the baby. Big knickers (my fave are the bladder control nicks…not sexy but super practical) & some extra maternity pads too. Now this isn’t a hospital bag per say, but makes it easier to grab should we need it. But more often not it just makes the whole early postnatal time at home a beautifully easy transition without us having to riffle through your knicker drawer or doom room to find the stuff you need immediately after baby arrives.
& that my pregnant friend is pretty much the important baits you need. The rest you care provider can take care of for you should need it.
Any more questions of what I need for birth at home can be dropped in the comment and we’ll grab it and answer it for you.
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